In this clip of My Friends Are Better Than Yours Featuring Bob Celestin, the entertainment attorney breaks down what AI is really doing to the music business right now, and what artists and producers need to watch out for.
He’s getting calls from old-school artists who used AI to finally finish songs they wrote 15 or 20 years ago and now want a deal. His honest answer: be glad you got to express yourself, but at 45 or 50, that deal is probably not happening. His advice comes back to Bruce Lee: adapt or die.
Bob also gets real about the legal side. Clients are bringing him AI-drafted contracts that look right but are still wrong, because a Google template doesn’t replace a negotiation tailored to that artist. And when it comes to protecting music, AI creates a major problem: you can’t get a copyright registration from copyright.gov unless a human created it. His rule is CYS, Copyright Your Stuff. If AI made it, you have to replay it, re-sing it, and re-record it with human involvement for that version to be protected.
At the industry level, the majors are suing AI companies like Udio and Suno, then settling and licensing deals with them. Meanwhile, Bob says he’s on an email string with 125 lawyers negotiating together for three non-negotiables: artist approval before their music or vocals are used for AI, fair compensation and a split of the money, and the right to opt out.
He closes with the double edge for lawyers: AI can summarize an agreement in five seconds, which helps him, but it also takes away the work he used to give interns to help them learn the business.
Topics Discussed
- AI Creating Music: Producers and artists using AI to generate songs and beats
- The Comeback Call: Older artists reviving 15- to 20-year-old songs with AI and asking for a deal
- Adapt or Die: Why artists and attorneys have to adjust to AI instead of fighting it
- AI-Drafted Contracts: Why a template is not the same as a properly negotiated management or artist agreement
- CYS – Copyright Your Stuff: Why copyright.gov requires human creation and how to fix an AI song by replaying it
- Labels vs. Udio & Suno: Lawsuits, settlements, and licensing deals with AI companies
- Lawyers Speaking in One Voice: 125 lawyers pushing for approval, compensation, split, and opt-out rights
- AI vs. Interns: How instant AI summaries help attorneys but remove learning opportunities for young lawyers
#AIMusic #MusicBusiness #Copyright #MusicAttorney # Suno # Udio # TheIndustryCosign